Applying CSNAT in HBPC as an Approach to Elder Mistreatment Risk Reduction

Eksperimentell: Behavioral: Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT)

The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) is a caregiver-centered intervention designed to identify and address family caregiver support needs. The intervention includes completion of the CSNAT assessment followed by structured support and problem-solving discussions with a clinician to prioritize needs, develop action plans, and connect caregivers with available resources.

Atferdsmessig: CSNAT-I

The CSNAT intervention is a structured, caregiver-centered approach that identifies caregiver support needs and facilitates clinician-led support and problem-solving discussions. The intervention includes completion of the CSNAT assessment, collaborative care planning with a nurse practitioner, and a follow-up review of action plan implementation approximately one month later. Audio recordings may be collected, with participant consent, to assess intervention fidelity.

Ingen inngripen: Usual Care Control Group

Participants in this arm will receive usual home-based primary care services. As part of standard practice, family caregivers may engage in informal, ad hoc conversations with the visiting nurse practitioner regarding caregiving needs and concerns during routine home care visits for the older adult receiving care. Caregivers in this arm will not receive the structured Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) intervention. Participants will complete study assessments at baseline and post-intervention.

Recruitment Feasibility

Recruitment feasibility will be assessed by the time from identification of a potential participant to enrollment, participant refusal rate, and average time required to enroll 20 caregivers per study arm.

Participant Acceptability of CSNAT Intervention

Acceptability of the CSNAT intervention will be assessed through semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with intervention participants who complete the study intervention. Interviews will explore: (1) caregiver experiences and caregiving-related stressors; (2) caregiver support needs; (3) participant experiences with and perceptions of the CSNAT intervention; and (4) barriers and facilitators to participation in the intervention. Interview data will be analyzed to identify themes related to the acceptability, perceived usefulness, and implementation of the intervention.

Participant Retention

Retention will be assessed as the proportion of enrolled participants who complete both baseline and post-intervention assessments.

Intervention Adherence

Intervention adherence will be assessed as the proportion of participants in the intervention arm who complete the CSNAT assessment and both planned support discussions with the nurse practitioner.

Change from Baseline in Caregiving Strain at One Month

Caregiving strain will be assessed using the 8-item Strain subscale of the Family Appraisal of Caregiving Questionnaire for Palliative Care (FACQ-PC). The subscale evaluates caregiving burden related to role overload and role captivity. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). Responses are summed and/or averaged according to instrument scoring guidelines, with higher scores indicating lower levels of caregiving strain.

Outcome Measure: Change in caregiving strain score from baseline to 1 month. The change score will be calculated as the 1-month score minus the baseline score. Positive values indicate a reduction in caregiving strain, while negative values indicate an increase in caregiving strain.

Change From Baseline in Caregiver Physical Health at One Month

Assessed using the SF-12v2 Physical Component Summary (PCS). Higher scores indicate better physical health.

Change From Baseline in Caregiver Quality of Life at One Month

Caregiver quality of life will be assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), a 26-item validated instrument that measures quality of life across four domains: Physical Health, Psychological Health, Social Relationships, and Environment. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with response options varying by item (e.g., 1 = very dissatisfied/not at all to 5 = very satisfied/completely). Domain scores are calculated according to instrument scoring guidelines, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.

Change in caregiver quality of life from baseline to 1 month, as measured by WHOQOL-BREF domain scores. Change scores will be calculated as the 1-month score minus the baseline score. Positive change values indicate improvement in quality of life.

Change from Baseline in Elder Mistreatment and Neglect Scores and Associations with Other Secondary Measures at One Month

Elder mistreatment will be assessed using the Potentially Harmful Behavior Scale (PHBS), a 10-item instrument that measures caregiver behaviors that may place the care recipient at risk of physical or psychological harm. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (all of the time), with higher scores indicating more frequent potentially harmful behaviors.

Caregiver neglect of the care recipient will be assessed using a 7-item Neglect Scale adapted to measure the frequency with which caregivers do not provide assistance with essential care needs, including medical care, activities of daily living, transportation, household tasks, nutrition, hygiene, and supervision. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never/not relevant) to 5 (very frequently). Higher scores indicate a greater frequency of neglectful caregiving behaviors.

Change in elder mistreatment and neglect scores from baseline to 1

Change From Baseline in Caregiver Mental Health at One Month

Assessed using the SF-12v2 Mental Component Summary (MCS). Higher scores indicate better mental health.

Change From Baseline in Caregiver Depressive Symptoms at One Month

Assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Total scores range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater depressive symptom severity.